Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 86.6 million U.S. subscribers,ahead of AT&T Mobility's 78.2 million subscribers.
On January 9, 2009, Verizon Wireless acquired Alltel Wireless in a deal valued at $28.1 billion. The acquisition expanded Verizon's wireless network to cover approximately 290 million people and established Verizon as the weight: bold;largest United States wireless carrier, based on number of subscribers. Alltel will remain a wholly owned subsidiary until mid 2009.
Verizon Wireless will introduce the highly-anticipated MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot on May 17. Developed by Novatel Wireless, the MiFi 2200 lets customers create a personal Wi-Fi cloud capable of sharing the reliability and high-speed Internet connectivity of the Verizon Wireless 3G Mobile Broadband network with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as notebooks, netbooks, cameras, gaming devices or portable media/MP3 players.
The MiFi 2200 is small enough to fit in a pocket, measuring 3.5" x 2.3" x 0.4" and weighing 2.05 ounces. It combines a variety of features into its streamlined form factor, including integrated internal CDMA and Wi-Fi antennas, advanced security and authentication technologies.
The MiFi 2200 gives more than 86 million customers access to the nation's largest and most reliable 3G network," said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. "With projected growth rates of over 30 percent for Wi-Fi mobile phones, MiFi will be of great benefit to both business customers and consumers.
It gives customers the flexibility to transform their Wi-Fi-enabled consumer electronics into Mobile Broadband devices and to choose how and when they need to be connected at a price point that will match most budgets.
The MiFi 2200 offers unprecedented possibilities for students, mobile workers and families to all stay connected while on the go," said Peter Leparulo, chairman and chief executive officer, Novatel Wireless. "We are very pleased to work closely with Verizon Wireless to deliver the most advanced connectivity solutions possible to our combined customers."
